


It's That Special Time of Year When the World Falls in Love

by npse



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Christmas, Christmas Party, F/M, Fluff, Hale Family Feels, Home for Christmas - Freeform, Human AU, M/M, Secret Santa, derek is reluctant to accept help or friendship but ends up getting both, fair amount of sterek broments, hopefully there's something good in here though, i don't know how to tag, i think???, just lots of festivius really, lots of vague mentions of ships, mild infrequent swearing, non supernatural au, peter's a bit of a dick, treats people questionably, vague references to kate argent fucking with the hales but nothing in depth, vague references to peter/kate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 06:39:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5529683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/npse/pseuds/npse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek gets thrown a festive curveball by Peter and tries to deny everyone's help and friendship so he can figure it out for himself. Inevitably, the majority win and Derek is forced to accept their help. Mostly this is Derek throwing logic to the wind because it's Christmas and who the fuck even cares. I'm bad at summaries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's That Special Time of Year When the World Falls in Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FlyingNymphLady](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingNymphLady/gifts).



> This was such a big project for me - I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to include as many of the ships and prompts as I could for my giftee, so I expected high numbers, but for my first fic in a very long while, I was definitely surprised. The words didn't come so easily as I was writing but now I'm feeling more muse than ever so I guess it was good for more than just bringing someone else festive cheer. Only edited by me so please alert me of any mistakes and feel free to follow me on my (new) writing tumblr @raekenhales! Comments, thoughts, ideas, questions are appreciated!! Happy Holidays to anyone who reads!

Derek Hale loved the holidays. He supposed his general demeanour would suggest otherwise, what with the scowling and the sarcasm and the general disapproval of anything that brought happiness to the general public, but it was one of the few things he could actually and genuinely share in the enjoyment of.

He blamed his family entirely – their love of any excuse to celebrate and entertain meant that any and every holiday became an excuse to gather and party to the nth degree. Christmas was their second favourite time of year, after Halloween, so it was always quite an affair to be at the Hale’s residence in December.

Unfortunately, his family’s attitude of celebrating Christmas beyond what was really reasonable had stuck with him, even into adulthood. Not that he was the type to string coloured lights from the balcony of the apartment he shared with his college buddy, Boyd, or shove adorned fake Christmas trees in every corner of his fancy new office, but he couldn’t help the little buzz of excitement that settled under his skin when he saw the first red Starbucks cups of the season. The buzz tended to last well beyond Christmas and into the New Year, which was both irrational, because the season didn’t last that long, and exciting because rationality was pretty much thrown to the wind when the holiday season was upon him.

Despite this abandonment of rational thinking, Derek still wasn’t interested in putting more money than necessary into a corporation such as Starbucks until it was absolutely necessary. This absolute necessity happened around about the beginning of the third week of December.

Every time.

Without fail.

Coincidentally, it was while in said Starbucks for the first time that holiday season that Derek made the first steps to abandoning his rationality for the sake of Christmas.

It all started with a phone call.

Derek answered it on the third ring, rolling his eyes almost affectionately at the sight of Allison’s name on his Caller ID. It was her third time calling that morning – each time with a new problem for him to advise on – and he knew her well enough by now to know that she was hiding her real reason for calling each time. He’d meant to confront her about it when he got to the office but if she insisted on calling, he’d keep on answering in the hopes she’d come out with it eventually.

“Hey, I’m almost there. Just at Starbucks – you want anything?”

“I’ve been thinking,” Allison started down the line, not bothering with a greeting or answering his question, and Derek was glad to finally be getting somewhere.

Not that he’d say as much.

“Sounds ominous,” he commented idly, holding the door open for a few patrons who were leaving the cafe before he ducked inside himself; smirking as Allison did that breathy, exasperated laugh she always did when he was cheeky with her.

“Shut up.” A pause. “I was thinking we should do something for Christmas this year.”

His eyebrows quirked up. “You and me?”

“No, I mean the company. Not that we couldn’t, but I think it would be fun to do something in the office as well.”

“The Christmas Party isn’t enough?” Derek asked, slight frown on his face as he perused the menu boards on the back wall of the café.

“It is,” she started, her voice edging into the tone of persuasion she often adopted when they were arguing over which interns to take on for full time employment at the end of their terms and she’d taken a shining to one he wanted to be rid of. “You know I think Scott’s mom does a great job organising them, but that’s just one night. It’s the holiday season for a reason, y’know? I think we should do something that keeps people excited and happy until their Christmas break. I read somewhere that it will help keep them motivated to work instead of daydreaming about their upcoming holidays. It should up our productivity and I know how you’ve been concerned about our Winter quarter ever since you caught Danny taking a shirtless picture of himself in the bathroom last week.”

Derek thought it over for a brief moment, cringing only slightly at the memory of walking in on Danny in that state. It had certainly been awkward and concerning at the same time.

He didn’t believe that Allison had really read anything like what she said she had but it sounded like it could be true regardless and she was right about his concerns over their Winter quarter productivity levels. Not to mention he was kind of conditioned to agree to any festive additions to their workplace, anyway, if only to avoid the inevitable verbal assault his family would give him for being a Grinch whenever they found out that he hadn’t. And he had no doubts that Allison would tell them just so they’d force him to agree with her plan and make things more festive.

“How long did it take you to come up with that little speech?” he asked, small smile creeping into place as he could imagine a similar one spreading across Allison’s features and dimpling her cheeks.

“Does that mean you’re in?”

“Depends - what’s your idea?”

“Secret Santa.”

He let out a raspy chuckle, rubbing at his two-day-old stubble as he thought of all the potential outcomes of this little seasonal acitivity. “You know that’s a train wreck just waiting to happen, right?”

“Maybe,” she conceded, “But it could also go fine – it’s not like we have a staff of teenagers or anything.”

“No, just Scott and Stiles,” he pointed out, because really, they were just as bad, and Allison laughed.

“I just think it would be nice.”

Derek gave a long suffering sigh.

“…You’re dealing with the fall out if someone thinks it’s funny to send an inappropriate gift,” he warned and Allison let out a tiny squeal.

“I’m taking that as a yes and hanging up so you don’t have time to back out on me! Also, yes, to Starbucks – you know my order! See you when you get in the office!”

At the abrupt sound of the dial tone, Derek hung up on his end and slid his phone back into his pocket, shaking his head slightly as he stepped up to the counter to place an order for the office. There was so much that could go wrong, so many potential legal and personal issues to be ironed out before they could go ahead with it, but as the worker behind the counter ripped the plastic off a fresh stack of Starbucks seasonal cups to begin filling his order, he felt his worries fade. Allison was right – it was the holiday season for a reason and he just wouldn’t be a Hale if he didn’t do his utmost to make the celebrations last for as long as they could.

Plus, he trusted Allison as both a friend and a business partner. Ever since Chris went on an extended vacation and Peter essentially handed his half of the company over, Allison and Derek had been forced to work together more than ever as they navigated the terrifying seas of running a company jointly for the first time and he’d come to discover that she was more than capable to take care of business. They worked well together - they could totally handle a potentially problematic round of office Secret Santa for the sake of making things a little more festive. 

**

“Listen up, people!” Lydia demanded, snapping her fingers impatiently and sending a glare at a group of people at the back of the congregation of workers who didn’t fall into immediate silence. “I know it’s the end of the day and I’m sure you’re all desperate to get back to whatever boring lives you lead outside of work but Ms Argent wanted to speak with you all before you left so I suggest you all pay attention.” Lydia smiled brightly and there was a hint of threat behind her glossy lips before she took a step back and motioned for Allison to take her place. “Allison.”

Allison took her place at the head of the large conference room table and chuckled awkwardly, “Thanks, Lydia. I think. Anyway, I’m sure you’re all more than aware that the holiday season is upon us thanks to the obnoxiously large Christmas tree that’s sitting in the foyer, but just in case some of you weren’t feeling quite festive enough, this year we have decided to throw a secret gift exchange! Obviously it’s so titled to be inclusive, but it’s basically secret Santa and I’m sure you all know how it works. If you don’t want to be involved, there’s no hard feelings! I just thought it would be a nice way to bring the office together after the crazy year we’ve all had,” She smiled, tucking her hair behind her ears before shrugging, no doubt thinking about the mayhem the office had been in while the heads of power shifted.

There was a quiet buzz in the room as people considered whether they wanted in or not and Derek watched from the back of the group, offering Allison what he thought was a reassuring nod for her efforts in front of their employees.

They were both so new to being in charge that it was hard to tell if they were doing a good job or not by holding the event, but no one left the room – either because they were genuinely interested in the idea or because they didn’t want to be the first one to sniff at their new bosses ideas but who could tell. The joint venture between Chris Argent and Peter Hale was now the business of Allison and Derek and the employees just had to get used to it.

There was some shuffling in the group and Derek watched as Lydia fixed someone with a steely glare as they edged toward the door, smiling to himself once the glare gave way a satisfied grin when the employee caught sight of her look of disapproval and stopped dead in their tracks.

“Excellent,” Lydia said, her voice pleased like the fact they stayed was totally their choice and not at all partly because they feared her. She was Allison’s personal assistant, but everyone in the office knew the girl had more power than the position suggested and ways beyond it to make things happen. “Since you all stayed, let’s can get this over with right now.”

She motioned for Jordan, her new boyfriend and Chris Argent’s eyes and ears in the company during his time away, to step forward and there was a moment of quiet heckling from the employees until Lydia shut them down with a look. He carried a glass bowl filled with folded strips of paper and Lydia led him to the door way. “Everyone pick a name before you leave. And for the love of God, if you get your own, don’t keep it.”

Their workers started filing out of the room, each with a strip of paper in hand, and Derek loitered at the back while the room slowly emptied out.

“Nothing like the overwhelming stress and anxiety of having to find the least offensive gift to give a colleague you barely know to get you in the Christmas spirit, hey big guy?” Stiles asked Derek, clapping him on the back as he moved toward him to avoid the rest of the crowd.

One of the downsides to being new bosses was that some of the employees still thought of he and Allison as their equals rather than their superiors and Stiles was definitely one of those employees. Derek hadn’t bothered to correct any of them for a long time, not expecting his former colleagues to adjust to the change overnight, but it had come to a point where they needed to be reminded of the power imbalance that existed between them now. There needed to be a certain level of workplace respect. Even Stiles, as his personal assistant, couldn’t get away with being so blasé when talking to a CEO.

“You don’t have to participate.” Derek pointed out, inching forward in the slowly-emptying room. He was still working on how to assert his authority without getting his former-colleagues-slash-current-employees offside.

“No,” Stiles conceded with a nod, before a wicked grin came across his features, “but if I didn’t participate then I wouldn’t get a gift myself. And me - I love gifts.”

Derek rolled his eyes.

“Is this Allison’s idea or yours?”

“Both,” Derek said definitively. It was important to present a united leadership front.

Stiles snorted, “Yeah, right. Like you want to take part in a stupid gift exchange.”

Derek fixed Stiles with his best unimpressed stare for a moment until he was interrupted by his phone ringing in his pocket. He fished it out, holding it up to Stiles as he said, “Excuse me, I’ve got some real work to attend to.”

(And maybe that right there was part of why Stiles never showed Derek the respect he deserved, but really, it was entirely too easy and too much fun to tease Stiles’ work for Derek to give it up completely.)

Stiles floundered, his eyes squinting in betrayal. “Hey, that is entirely uncalled for! Real work,” he mimicked, hacking out a sarcastic laugh, “I’d like to see you do my job, Mister! You’d be lost without me! Lost!”

Stiles kept shouting after him as Derek cut to the front of the line, but he’d stopped paying attention. Instead, he answered the call and held the phone to his ear as he quickly snatched a shred of paper from the bowl and fled the room.

“Derek Hale,” he answered professionally once out in the hallway, not having bothered to check his Caller ID earlier.

“How’s my company going?”

“It’s not your company anymore, Peter,” he reminded his Uncle, wandering toward his office. “That’s what a handover means.”

“I know, but it’s just so hard to let go.”

“What do you want?” Derek huffed, “I’m busy.”

“What? Can’t an uncle call up his favourite nephew?” Peter asked, feigning disappointment and hurt.

“Not you.”

Peter chuckled down the line, “You’re getting perceptive in your old age, Derek. I’m impressed.” Derek couldn’t fight the urge to roll his eyes. “No, you’re right, there was something I wanted to tell you. I’m returning from my trip early – I’ll be able to make the family Christmas festivities after all.”

“I didn’t know you weren’t going.” Derek said, barely listening as his uncle droned on and he continued about his business now that he was back in his office.

“Really? I suppose your mother expected me to change my mind.”

“Or maybe she just knows better than to trust anything you say anymore.”

Peter’s laugh made Derek crack a tiny smile as he read through an email. “Touché, Derek. Touché. But that’s not all I wanted to tell you.”

Derek hummed inquisitively, prompting Peter to continue while he scribbled out a note to himself for the next day’s work.

“I’ll be bringing a woman home with me for the holidays. Beautiful thing - I believe she’s a friend of yours.”

Derek paused. A frown fell across his features as he took the phone back in his hand again. “I don’t have any friends.”

Peter tsked, “Don’t be like that. What would your little gang of misfits think if they heard you?”

“What friend, Peter?” He demanded, ignoring his uncle.

“Oh a sweet little thing – now what was she called?“

“Peter.”

“Ah, yes. Kate Argent.”

Derek felt the jolt of unexpected news hit right in his chest – goose bumps raising across his skin as a flush settled upon his cheeks and his breath came out short.

“She said you two went way back.”

Derek couldn’t find the words to respond. He stared at the obnoxious star shaped post it notes Stiles thought it would be hilarious to stock his desk with as Peter went on about what a nice woman Kate was. Derek’s rage built slowly but surely, his uncle’s complete disregard for his feelings piling on top of his almost forgotten hatred of Kate and the shame over what had happened so many years ago. It boiled together until Derek’s resolve cracked from the tension and he was tossing the stupid sticky notes across the room before sweeping his arm across his desk and sending everything on it flying when the first act of destruction wasn’t quite enough.

“What was that?”

“I’m really busy,” Derek said gruffly, barely having ended the call before he launched his phone across the room.

He let out a frustrated groan, dropping his head into his hands and threading his fingers into his hair so he could tug at it just to feel something other than unavoidable and unattainable rage.

A sudden knock at the door made Derek startle and snap, “Not now, Stiles!”

Spinning in his chair, Derek reached for the bottom draw of his desk, where he and Allison had thoughtfully stashed a few half bottles of alcohol for the inevitable days when their business was too much work for two twenty-somethings to run on their own. He didn’t much care what she’d think about him breaking into it so early on in their run and had just unscrewed the top of one bottle when a gentle voice called out to him.

“Derek?”

It was Scott.

“Go away!” he yelled again, not bothering with any of the shot glasses in the drawer but not taking a sip yet, either.

“You okay?”

“Are you deaf?”

Scott persisted through the door. “Stiles said he heard crashes in here.”

Derek ignored him, hoping that his silence would send him away. He should have known better. A second later, the door was slowly cracking open and Scott was poking his head in.

“Drinking on the job?”

Derek grimaced at Scott, glancing at the clock on his wall. “It’s after 6.” He said, as if it was a viable excuse.

Scott nodded, accepting and not judging as he stepped in the room carefully, as if ready to bail if Derek started throwing things again. When he deemed the situation safe, he pushed the door shut and plucked a rogue stapler off the seat of one of the plush chairs opposite Derek’s desk, tossing it from hand to hand before sitting in its place and putting it back on Derek’s desk.

“What’s up?”

Derek said nothing.

“Your secret Santa can’t be that bad, can it?” Scott tried, the beginnings of a grin forming at the corner of his mouth.

“Shut up,”

Scott’s smile took over. “Sorry.”

Derek shook his head, tensing his jaw in an effort to stop himself from lashing out again. “Is everyone gone?”

“Sort of. A few of us stuck around because Allison said we were going for a few drinks. That’s why Stiles knocked before but then, well, y’know,” he winced. “It’s okay, though. I’ll go and tell them that you’re super busy or something. You can come next time.”

Derek nodded absentmindedly, lost in his thoughts again.

“Or you could maybe come with us since you’re probably getting drunk anyway? Might as well have people there looking out for you while you’re at it, right?”

“Who’s going?”

“The usuals – me, Allison, Stiles, Malia, Lydia, Danny. Oh, and Kira, the new girl. And you…?”

At least Malia would be there – she was Peter’s daughter, albeit distantly and disgruntledly, and she would likely understand better than anyone the way Derek was feeling in the face of his betrayal. Going might not be so bad.

Scott gave a self-satisfied smile when Derek twisted the cap back on the bottle of booze, as if it were his efforts that made Derek agree to go and not the promise of harder liquor and someone who might understand what he was feeling.

**

Derek had no idea what he or Allison were thinking when they agreed to go to a bar with their employees. Granted, most of them they knew from before they were bosses and they’d been drunk together countless times before, but they weren’t free to act like that anymore. It was unprofessional. They were bosses - they were meant to discipline these people, not get drunk with them and tell them their problems.

Which, y’know, definitely happened.

Derek didn’t even mean for it to happen. He still hadn’t had anything to drink – despite how much he wanted to – because he didn’t trust where his head was at in that moment. The last thing he wanted was for his emotions to get the better of him. So he stuck to minding the table and the girls’ purses and the boys wallets and phones while he brooded and they danced. It was fine, really – he could overthink anywhere – but then Malia slid into the bench seat opposite him and nudged his foot under the table.

“What’s with the face?”

“Nothing.”

Malia just stared at him, waiting expectantly, knowing he’d cave eventually.

“Peter’s bringing a woman home for Christmas…”

“…And?”

Derek clenched his jaw. “We have history.”

Malia frowned slightly, “You and Peter?”

“No,” Derek huffed.

“You and the woman?” she clarified, nodding once he did and no doubt trying to piece together why something so simple seemed to bother him so much. She was like that – blunt and bold and a little baffled by the complexities of human emotion. Derek loved her for it. “So?”

“It’s Kate.”

Malia’s eyes narrowed. “The Kate that-“

“Yes,” Derek snapped, not wanting to rehash the details. “Her. And he says he’s bringing her to our new home.”

“What do you need me to do? I know people. We could have it stopped.”

“I don’t need you to do anything,” Derek amended gruffly, though he already felt a little better just from her reaction. “I’m not going so it doesn’t matter.”

“You’re skipping Christmas?”

Derek nodded, not realising until he’d said it aloud that he’d reached that conclusion.

“Your favourite time of year and the only time you let yourself take a break to see your family and you’re skipping it? Because of Peter?” Malia’s eyebrows drew together and she shook her head. “No way, Derek. I won’t let you.”

“It’s not up to you, actually,” Derek reminded her bitterly.

“Yeah, well screw that because I’m helping.”

“No, you’re not. I don’t need help. I’m just not going.”

“Derek! I can help!”

“What are we helping with?” Stiles asked, interrupting whatever argument Malia was about to make for her case and sidling in beside Derek in the booth. It was one of the few times Derek could remember ever feeling grateful for Stiles’ presence in his life.

“Nothing,” Derek replied with a stern look at Malia that said ‘don’t say a word’.

“Okay…” Stiles said awkwardly, snatching a coaster from the centre of the table and beginning to tear it into tiny pieces.

The tension was palpable – Malia glaring at Derek who rolled his eyes and looked away, Stiles glancing between them like he didn’t know who was going to break first. Unfortunately for all three of them, Hales didn’t break easily.

It was Danny who decided to join the sulk fest next, the smile falling off his face the instant he sidled up to the booth.

“Whoa, what’s going on here?”

“Derek’s brooding,” Stiles supplied unhelpfully and Danny merely nodded, sliding in beside Malia.

“Anything we can help with?”

Had it been anyone else asking, Derek would have settled for a levelling stare but this was Danny and he actually liked him.

“No,” he said instead.

“Come on, Derek,” Stiles snapped, “Whatever it is has clearly got you more worked up than usual, and that takes some doing considering your stress levels are naturally at an unhealthy level. Let us help you.”

“Like I said to Malia, I don’t need help.”

“Well when you start throwing stuff around your office in the middle of the day I think that suggests otherwise!”

Derek whipped his head to glare at Stlles at the same moment Scott happened to be within earshot.

“What the hell, Stiles? I told you not to say anything!”

Derek glared at Scott next who had the good grace to look sheepish for having told Stiles about the state of his office.

“What’s going on over here?” Lydia demanded, settling in beside Scott, because of course the whole party was getting involved. Even quiet Kira had wandered over and found a seat. Perfect. It was a good thing Allison had left early because Derek really didn’t need another do-gooder prying into his life. “I could hear you all arguing from the dance floor.”

“Nothing,” he repeated for what felt like the millionth time. Maybe it was. He tended to lie to himself a lot. “I said I’m fine.”

“Yeah, right.” Stiles muttered, tossing the torn up coaster onto the tabletop. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you that a problem shared is a problem halved?”

“Or doubled,” Derek bit back and apparently that just about did it for Stiles because he kind of went a little nuts.

“Damn it, Derek, why won’t you let anyone help you? I know you think of us all as just coworkers or employees or whatever stupid title you’ve got in your head that lets you distance yourself from us but to us? You’re our friend. Hell, probably more like family given how much time we all spend together in and out of work. So when we say that we want to help you, we mean it, and it’s about time you got over whatever issues you’re clinging to and let us do it. Because we’re not gonna stop bugging you about it until you do.” Stiles ended his rant by slamming his hand on the table.

Malia waited approximately one second before she ignored Derek’s murderous glare and spilled the truth anyway.

“Derek’s having a breakdown because my psychotic sperm donor says he’s taking one of Derek’s even more psychotic exes home for the holidays so Derek’s refusing to go.”

All eyes at the table landed on Derek and he felt himself grow hot with both embarrassment and anger as the questions started all at once.

“Seriously?”

“Your uncle and your ex?”

“What do you mean ‘one of’? You’ve got more than one crazy ex?”

“How does that happen?”

“You can’t just not go home for the holidays!”

“Enough!” Derek shouted, sending their table into an awkward silence. A few of the surrounding booths stare over in concern. “Malia shouldn’t have said anything. It’s none of your business. I’ll deal with it.”

He moved to get out of the booth but Stiles was beside him, and Kira beside him, blocking his exit.

“Move.”

Stiles shook his head, settling into the seat. “Cat’s outta the bag now - might as well let us help you.”

“We might even come up with something good,” Scott offered from across the table, smile hopeful. 

“The last thing I want to do right now is let you guys dissect my personal life. This is entirely unprofessional.” 

Danny snorted, “Have you forgotten the part where we all worked together before you got your crazy promotion? You might be a hotshot CEO now but there’s no such thing as professionalism between colleagues who have accidentally seen each other naked as many times as we all have.”

Admittedly, Danny had a good point. (Which, damn it, Danny.)

“Come on, Derek,” Lydia said, voice gentle as if she thought the contrast would make him more likely to agree. “With me here we’re bound to come up with something useful.”

Despite himself, Derek found himself wanting to let them. They were all varying levels of drunk but the looks on their faces were earnest when they offered to help and Derek was really at a loss for what to do.

“Fine.”

Lydia preened as if she were solely responsible for badgering him into submission.

“Good, because the answer to your problem is obvious,” she said, relishing in the attention when all eyes landed on her. “The best way to show you’re over someone is to be under someone else.”

Danny nodded his support, following on from Lydia’s train of thought as he added, “Totally, just take someone to your parent’s house for the holidays to show your ex you’ve moved on.”

“I’m not dating anyone.”

“Come on,” Scott sounded like he didn’t quite believe it, “A guy like you – there’s got to be plenty of girls just waiting for a chance at a date with you.”

“Maybe, but I can guarantee none of them want to meet my family.”

Malia nodded, chewing on one of the peanuts from the bowl on the table. “It’s insanity. I barely wanted to meet them the first time.”

“No one? Seriously?” Scott’s voice grew high in disbelief. Derek shook his head.

“What about Lydia?” Stiles suggested.

“I’m with Jordan,” she reminded him, giving Stiles a look of distaste before offering, “You could ask Allison?”

Scott shifted uncomfortably until Derek mentioned that Allison had plans to meet up with her father in Europe for the holidays and he visibly relaxed.

“It’s a good thing there’s a business for lonely losers like you, then,” Stiles said.

“I’m not lonely-“

“What is it?” Malia asked.

“Escorts, duh,” he said, as if procuring a prostitute were the most obvious answer in the world, “We’ll just hire a chick, or a dude, if that’s what you’re into, and they can be all over you so that you can pretend you’re okay even when you’re not.”

Scott and Derek both sounded their objections to hiring an escort at the same time.

“I don’t see anyone else coming up with solutions to this problem, alright?” Stiles shouted, immediately on the defensive.

“You’re a good looking guy, Derek – there must be someone willing to fake date you,” Lydia started.

“I’ll do it!”

Six sets of eyes looked to the girl on the outskirts of the table, a shocked silence falling over them as Kira shifted uncomfortably and tried to hide her blush behind her hair.

“I mean,” she stuttered, trying to regain her composure, “I’ll help you out. It could make sense. We already know each other so it’ll be easier to lie to your family and I’m already awkward enough to cover any lies they might catch us in or suspicions that might arise.”

Derek watched as Lydia arched an eyebrow and Danny subtly nodded his head.

“I’ve been wanting to try acting for a while so why not start with this, right?” Kira continued before realising what she’d said and falling into a tizz all over again, “Unless you don’t want to, which is totally understandable because why would you want to date me? But the offer is there, y’know, if you want. It could work..”

“…it’s kind of perfect…” Stiles commented, looking between the people gathered at the table.

“If you don’t say yes, I will.” Malia said matter-of-factly, shrugging unashamedly when everyone looked to her instead. ‘I’m not about to let Peter think he’s the only one who can bring a hot woman home for the holidays.”

A few of them chuckled but ultimately it was Scott who looked to Derek with hopeful eyes. “What do you say?”

Derek thought for a moment, looking between the people surrounding him. “I think fake dating someone is stupid,” he said, standing from his seat and climbing onto the table to escape the booth and eventually the bar itself.

**

No matter what anyone said, Derek wasn’t avoiding his problems. He wasn’t. He was just really busy being a CEO and sometimes that meant he needed to lock himself in his office for days on end and avoid talking to anyone who happened to have been at the bar that night. Even Stiles. Yes, it was difficult being a CEO too busy to talk to his own PA but that was the life he was living these days.

And yes, despite how busy he was, he was still bitter about what had happened that night with Malia and the rest of them and the fact that his problem had no doubt spread throughout the office by now. He never wanted to be that boss whose personal life was the subject of employee discussion and yet here he was already in only his first year in power. It was his fault, of course. He should have shut it down the moment it started but a part of him couldn’t help but hope they’d come up with a plausible solution to his problem. It was embarrassing and unprofessional and downright irritating that he’d allowed himself to fall into this trap but it was done. There was nothing he could do now except try to re-establish himself as a boss and a leader, which was why he had exiled himself to his office. The only reason why.

Which was why Derek couldn’t help but roll his eyes when Erica stopped by his office one afternoon and popped her head in just to ask; “Are you still brooding or can I come in?”

Erica was one of Derek’s closest friends – they’d gone to high school together and shared a college, although not a major, after that and when Peter gave Derek his first position in the company, he made sure to bring Erica along for the ride as well.

Derek rolled his eyes, sighing, “Who told you?”

Erica shrugged, smirk on her face as she slipped inside. “Issac.”

“What? Issac isn’t even here – who told him?”

“Have you been up in the ivory tower of these swanky offices so long you’ve forgotten how fast the rumour mill runs around here? Word travels fast, especially news about you, considering you’re so tight lipped about everything.” She dropped into one of the seats opposite his desk, wasting no time in kicking her feet up onto the desk. “Did you redecorate? Your desk is emptier than usual.”

“Spring cleaning,” Derek muttered sheepishly, remembering how embarrassed he’d felt when he had to pick up his broken objects a few days prior after his little tantrum. “Did you want something? I’m working here.”

Erica smiled at Derek before she started examining her nails, feigning nonchalance, “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t stewing in your thoughts up in here.”

“I’m not. I’m working.”

Erica snorted, “You say that like you can’t do both at once. I know you, Derek. You’re a workaholic and a brooder. It’s in your nature to mix the two together.”

Derek rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to his computer as he muttered, “If you don’t actually need anything important, I’m going back to work, now.”

Erica tipped a fake salute in his direction, reaching into her hand bag to pull out an emery board and set to work on her nails as she settled into the chair some. Derek took that as a sign he could return to work himself free of too much interruption.

He’d only written another line of a proposal before she started again.

“So,” she was clearly aiming for casual but Derek could practically feel her desperation to know the truth so he kept his eyes on his computer, maintaining an air of disinterest as she finally came out with it. “How much of it’s true? Is your Uncle really getting with one of your crazy exes?”

“Can we stop calling them crazy exes? They weren’t all crazy.”

Erica chuckled, “The fact that you have to say that is depressing. C’mon, spill. Who is it?”

“Kate.”

At that, Erica’s hands stilled and her head snapped up, drawing Derek’s attention, and she glared daggers at him. “What?”

Derek barely had another syllable formed before she was on her feet.

“I’ll kill him. After everything she’s done he’s inviting her back into your family? What kind of uncle is he?”

“It’s fine.”

“No, Derek, it’s not fine. This is why that asshole keeps doing stuff like this – because you let him get away with it! He treats you like garbage. Are you really going to let him bring her back into your life? After how hard you’ve worked to get past it?”

Derek gave her his best indifferent stare. “I wasn’t about to welcome her with open arms, if that’s what you’re thinking,”

“You can’t see her,” she said firmly.

“What else am I supposed to do? I can’t just not see my family – you know how that would go down.”

“Tell them you’re spending it in the city with me. They’ll believe you because I already told Cora I was having a Christmas pity party and you’re the perfect guest of honour for that.”

Derek rolled his eyes, “Yeah, because my family are really going to let that happen. You know they’d just come here and drag us back home anyway. They still might with you - you’ve been part of the family for years, you don’t have to stay here and be sad by yourself.”

Erica smiling softly, “I know. But I don’t mind the solitude.. It’s good for me, I think. It’s good to remember them without feeling like I have to pretend.”

Derek nodded solemnly, thinking about Erica’s family and how they’d all suffered and left in different ways. Some mentally, some physically, some by choice or involuntarily – regardless it all boiled down to Erica being alone and without family up until she’d met Derek and been essentially adopted into his family.

The Hales had a habit of doing that; picking up the stragglers and giving them the love and family they needed but no longer had. Isaac, Erica and Boyd could attest to that. Which reminded him…

“Boyd’s going to be alone for the holidays, too. Maybe you guys should catch up – celebrate together or something.”

Erica arched an eyebrow. “Vernon?” She scoffed and it filtered into a tiny chuckle. “You have no idea how to read people, do you? God, no wonder you keep dating psychos. That boy hates me, Derek. I can’t think of a single time I’ve seen him where he hasn’t been totally stone faced despite my undeniable charm and devilish advances.”

“That’s just his face.,” Derek said, trying his best to wingman his friend. Erica and Boyd both liked each other – had ever since Derek threw his first dorm party in freshman year and they met on a fire escape – but neither believed him when he tried to hint that the other was interested. It was beyond frustrating. “Trust me.”

“Please. Your roommate would rather eat his own foot than hang out with me, let alone spend Christmas with me. I’ll be fine on my own. This isn’t about me, anyway. This is meant to be about me making you stay here where you’ll be safe.”

“I’ll be fine. I won’t even see her.”

Erica frowned at him. “I think you’re forgetting who helped pick up the pieces after she fucked you over, Derek. I don’t want to see you go through that again. Just stay here and we can get drunk and prank call her.”

Derek sighed, “I want to but you know I can’t. They’re my family.”

Erica groaned, “Fine. Whatever. Go be with your family for the holidays and see the woman who tried to ruin you, all of you, and the uncle who doesn’t give a crap about it. Go put yourself through all that unnecessary pain because of some misguided sense of obligation to them. Because that’s what we all really want for the holidays, isn’t it? Another downward spiral because of fucking Kate Argent.”

“Erica-“ Derek tried, but his friend stormed out of the room, too tired of his excuses. Honestly, he was tired of them too. But it was his family – what else was he supposed to do?

**

A few hours later, Derek and Boyd were slowly meandering around the mall trying to find gifts for their exchanges. So far the search wasn’t going so well but Derek had an idea of what he was getting his person anyway. He’d gotten quite lucky with his pick, but Boyd on the other hand –

“It’s just my luck that I drew Lydia for this stupid thing,” Boyd grumbled, examining a handmade necklace from one of the centre kiosks positioned in the mall with scrutiny. “I can already see the way she’s gonna screw up her nose at whatever I get her.”

“You could always get a gift card,” Derek offered, trying to be helpful.

“And let her think she’s won?” Boyd raised his eyebrows, tone defiant. “No way – girls like Lydia enjoy being hard to please. It gives them power. So I’m going to find her the best damn gift possible for this exchange and watch her world crumble.”

Derek shook his head as he chuckled. He had to admit, he admired Boyd’s dedication. He definitely would have taken the easy way out. They wandered along a few kiosks, Boyd picking things up and putting them back intermittently when he deemed them inappropriate.

“Hey, who’d you get anyway?” he asked.

“It’s supposed to be a secret,” Derek said, deliberately avoiding the question.

Boyd sneered, “Yeah, that’s what you said about your private life but that isn’t stopping the whole office from talking about it.”

Derek gave Boyd his best unimpressed glare. “What did you hear?”

“Nothing,” he shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest and only just managing to hide his smirk. “Just that you got family dramas at the moment and that new girl Kira practically jumped at the chance to help you out with it. Is it true she wants to be your pretend girlfriend?”

Derek rolled his eyes. “This is why I don’t tell you people anything – none of you can keep your mouths shut.”

Boyd held his hands up in surrender, “Hey, man, I’m innocent in this.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

Boyd chuckled, leading the way into a store. “So what’s the drama?”

Derek gave him the quick version – Peter, Kate, Christmas at the Hales, the drunken suggestion of fake dating to make it somewhat bareable.

The otherwise unreadable expression of his best friend shifted, his eyebrows slightly raised. “Wow. Even for him, that’s cold.”

Derek ducked his head in agreeance, desperate to change the subject. “What are you doing for the holidays?”

Boyd shrugged as they perused more shelves of goods, eyeing everything critically as if he were trying to channel Lydia’s own sense of judgement. Derek knew holidays like these were a touchy subject – Boyd also didn’t have the greatest family life to head home to. Too many demons waiting for him back there.

“You’re welcome to join us,” Derek offered.

“And have to deal with all that drama? Pass.”

He sighed in defeat. “Yeah… You know Erica’s got no one around for the holidays either.”

Boyd raised an eyebrow doubtfully at him. “So what?”

“So maybe you should keep each other company.”

“We’re talking about the same girl, right? Y’know, blonde, around this high,” he gestures a height just to prove his point, “red lips, always stares me down whenever I see her and has never said anything even remotely friendly to me? You want me to ask that Erica to hang out on Christmas? You crazy?”

“Holidays bring people together,” Derek shrugged, as if it were actually true and not some overused Hallmark sentiment.

“Yeah, brings people together with their psychotic exes,” Boyd deadpanned, rolling his eyes and turning into another aisle, “I’m not about to ask someone I’m 98% sure hates my guts around to celebrate.”

Derek waved him off as his phone rang in his pocket, fishing it out to see his sister’s name stretched across the screen. He excused himself from Boyd’s company and swallowed down his apprehension as he answered, knowing she’d ask about when he was getting home and he’d have to improvise what the answer was. He was starting to sway after Erica’s berating – he really didn’t need to deal with this stuff on the holidays so why was he going to? He could easily stay away – but he knew talking to Laura would only serve to swing him back the other way.

After a few rounds of pleasantries, Laura came right out with it.

“So when’s my baby bro getting in? I’ve been here for a week already and I can’t wait to see you.”

Derek itched at his beard, wandering the aisles aimlessly. “I don’t know, yet. I might not be able to make it, actually. Work’s really busy-“

“No.”

“What?”

“No. You’re not quitting on Christmas, Derek. It’s your favourite.”

“I know, but work-“

“The work will still be there after the holiday.”

“I’m really busy-“

“Too busy to spend time with your family? We never see you as it is and now you want to quit on the one holiday we know we’ll see you for? What’s going on here?”

“Nothing,” Derek defended, suddenly registering that Peter hadn’t told anyone but him about his plans to reintroduce Kate to their family. For whatever reason, Derek couldn’t bring himself to break the news to them either. “It’s not like I don’t want to come. It’s just work.”

“Well ‘just work’ can wait. I’m bringing my new boyfriend and I really want you to meet him. Not to mention it’s not Christmas without you, Derek. We need you there.”

“You’ve got a boyfriend?” Derek asked, having honed in on the most important piece of information.

“Yes and you’ve got to come meet him and do the brother thing where you ask him hard questions and judge him across the table and if you don’t come I’m going to fly out there and bring you home myself, capiche?”

“Capiche?” Derek snorted, “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.” Laura said, her voice not betraying her words in the slightest. Derek played along regardless.

“Is your boyfriend in the mob?”

“Very funny,” she patronised, “Stiles is obviously rubbing off on you. Now book your plane ticket or I’ll book it for you and deliberately get you a crappy seat.”

Derek sighed, knowing she’d already won. The downside to being brought up in a family of strong females was how easily he let them have their way. He knew better than to fight against them once they’d set their mind on something.

“Good,” Laura said and Derek could practically hear her grin down the line. “You better be here by the 21st or I’m coming for you.”

“I’ll see what I can get,” he lied, knowing full well he wasn’t going to be there for any longer than he had to be.

“The 21st, Derek,” she stressed before adopting an accent to add, “Otherwise you’ll be sleepin’ with the fishes.”

“Oh my God,” Derek groaned, hiding his face in his hand as Laura cackled down the line.

“See you next week!”

Derek was still smiling from his stupid dorky big sister as he aimlessly wandered into a new area of the store, eyeing off the goods on display as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“I can’t believe this-“

The sudden familiar voice startled Derek and he glanced over his shoulder to see Allison standing there grinning.

“Derek Hale laughing,” she continued, all dimples and bright eyes, “It’s a Christmas miracle.”

Derek gave a sarcastic laugh and Allison giggled, moving closer to nudge his shoulder.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” she asked, glancing at the shelves he was perusing before adding, “Or are you always this happy when looking at fancy dining sets?”

“Just something Laura said to me,” he shook his head, “Don’t worry about it.”

“I take it her being funny means she took it well when you told her you were thinking of staying here for the holidays?” Allison asked earnestly.

Derek groaned, letting his head fall back so he could stare at the ceiling for a moment to contemplate how he’d found himself in this position. “God, can anyone at the office keep their mouth shut?”

Allison grinned. “Nope.”

“They’re all fired,” he grumbled.

“You can’t do that,” she admonished playfully, “What did she say?”

“I’ve got to be there or else.”

“I see,” she nodded solemnly, as if she truly understood. He supposed she did – she was Kate’s niece, after all, and had been around for some of the debacle as it unfolded. “You know I’m happy to go home with you, right? If you want, that is. If anyone can handle Kate, it’s me.”

Derek would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it. He and Allison were close and he’d be more than happy to hang out with her for a few days over the holidays and have her around keep him calm and Kate in line, but it felt too much like hiding to him, not to mention it would crush Scott if he found out. Derek knew how smitten with her he was and generally tried to avoid getting involved in messy situations like that. Plus, he knew she had plans to join her father in Europe and he definitely didn’t want to get in the way of that.

He shook his head, “I’ll be fine.”

“If you’re sure,” she said, sounding entirely unsure herself but Derek simply nodded. She looked a little sad about his refusal but he knew she was just too caring for her own good and she shook herself out of it within a moment. “Okay. Well I should get going – I came in here hoping to find a gift for the exchange and you’ve distracted me.”

“You distracted yourself by coming over here,” he pointed out and she laughed shyly.

“Well that was partially your fault but also I just love the crockery here. I’ve had my eye on this dinner set for months.” She pointed to a display of white dishes with gold detailing, images of birds and geometric patterns adorning the ceramic.

Derek gave a non-committal hum of acknowledgement, unsure how best to respond as Allison sighed wistfully at the set before eventually tearing herself away and disappearing further into the store. Derek remained there for a few moments longer, just staring at the set, until Boyd found him and demanded they get food before shopping any further.

**

Stepping into the location of their company’s Christmas party, Derek was greeted by a cool sea of blues, whites and silvers. Melissa, Scott’s mother, had hit the nail on the head yet again with the decorations of their annual Christmas party – opting for a less traditional but still seasonally appropriate colour scheme to make the event classier than most. There was glitter and fake snow and garlands dipping down from the ceilings and the tops of high tables that nursed trays of blue cocktails and deep brown ciders. Soft Christmas tunes mixed sweetly with the joyous, tipsy laughter of the employees already gathered around the room.

Derek stopped to take it all in, allowed himself to enjoy the moment. Christmas really was his favourite holiday and parties like this certainly didn’t happen every day. He made a mental note to organise something nice for Melissa to as a thank you. 

He quickly deposited his gift on the designated table, making sure no one saw which generically store-wrapped gift he left there, before snatching a bottle of cider from a nearby table and wandering around a little. Eventually he caught sight of Scott and the rest, and migrated toward them. 

“Hey, Derek’s here!” Scott shouted from across the room and an excited chorus erupted from around him, a bunch of people waving him over despite him already being on his way to them.

“So glad you’re gracing us with your presence, Boss Man,” Stiles greeted, upon his arrival, knocking his beer bottle against Derek’s bottle of cider. “Danny bet me $50 that you were going to keep hiding from us.”

“I was never hiding,” Derek defended and Stiles chuckled.

“Whatever you say, big guy,” Stiles patted him on the shoulder, moving over to heckle Danny, “Hey, Danny boy, look who just showed up! Time to pay up!”

Derek didn’t have it in him to feel bad for making Danny lose money – served him right for betting on his life choices, honestly. He looked to Scott who just shrugged ilke ‘what can you do?” and Derek had to admit that he found himself wondering that more and more often lately.

Allison joined the group shortly after with Lydia and Jordan in tow, all three of them looking incredible. Of course it was Allison dishing out the compliments, though.

“You’re all looking very handsome tonight, boys,” she said approvingly and Derek tried not to snort at the way Scott straightened up at the compliment. She knocked against Derek gently to get his attention before saying, “I know you just arrived but fair warning - if I don’t see you out there mingling later, I’m going to introduce you to every single person here. Including partners.”

Derek grimaced at the threat, pretty certain Allison would follow through with it if necessary. “I’ll mingle,” he promised and Stiles scoffed from his position a few people over.

“You’ve never mingled in your life.”

“Derek,” Allison tilted her head, looking as disapproving as she could before adding, “As the new CEOs we have to make good impressions at these events. I don’t want to give these people a reason to doubt us.”

“Technically only one of us has to make a good impression…” he pointed out and Allison frowned at him, crossing her arms across her chest as best she could without spilling the icy blue martini she cradled all over her fancy silver dress.

“Fine,” Derek relented, straightening up and squaring his shoulders. “I’ll mingle.”

Stiles snorted again, snickering against his beer bottle, and Derek raised his eyebrows. “At least I know there’s no obnoxious Stilinski partner for me to meet.”

“You wound me, Derek. But, like you, I’m married to the job. My boss rides me pretty hard,” Stiles waggled his eyebrows. “There’s no room in my heart for another at the moment.”

“More like nobody can put up with you long enough.”

“I resent that,” Stiles muttered, frowning as he pushed at Derek’s shoulder, “Go do your job and insult someone else.”

Derek relished in outwitting Stiles and moved onto Danny and the boy beside him with a slightly better attitude than before; which was fortunate, given the slightly sickening loved-up giggles the two were producing even as Derek cleared his throat and made his presence known. Danny had the good grace to blush slightly, moving a step away from the boy as he said, “Derek, hey, this is-“

“The guy you’re always texting when you should be working,” he finished, scolding lightly as he offered his hand to the new guy to shake. “Derek Hale.”

“I prefer Ethan, but that works too,” he answered, grinning as he shook Derek’s hand. “You’re the guy who caught him taking those pictures in the bathroom, right? Danny’s told me good things.”

Derek felt a shocking warmth in his chest and tried not to smile too hard at the thought of Danny talking his boss up to his boyfriend. Danny was just a good guy – he probably spoke highly of everyone he encountered – but still. It was nice. It made him feel bad for not having made the effort to know Danny more outside of the workplace, but he swallowed it down to think over later.

“I’ve never actually heard Danny say a bad thing about anyone, so I don’t know how much weight his words take.” 

“Shut up and take the compliment, Hale,” Danny insisted, rolling his eyes.

Derek could feel his cheeks heating despite himself so he gave another nod of his head and made his excuses to move on, blaming Allison’s insistence on him mingling for the too-short conversation. He looked over his shoulder as he moved on and caught Allison’s gaze from across the room to see her smiling encouragingly at him despite being mid-conversation with someone else.

He sought her out in the crowd after every person he interacted with and was met with the same almost-proud smile. It was her silent encouragement that kept him mingling for so long, waiting until the cider he’d been nursing for so long finally emptied before he allowed himself a break to stop by the bar for another drink.

He leaned on the bar top, considering his drink options as he waited for a bartender to come to him when he let his eyes wander and spotted Kira instead, loitering at the edge of the bar. She shifted awkwardly, watching the party, and Derek was reminded of just how easily Kira faded into the scenery. He’d been guilty of looking over her, too – barely registering her presence sometimes even when she was one of only a few people around him. After the kind, albeit embarrassing, offer she’d made to help him through his problems, he figured the least he could do was acknowledge her for once.

“I thought I was the only one who hid away at these things,” he said by way of greeting as he sauntered over and Kira only startled slightly at his sudden presence.

“I’m not hiding,” she shook her head, eyes wide and voice high like someone caught in a lie, before she realised Derek was joking and let out an awkward laugh. Derek gave a quiet chuckle too – the words were too familiar, although he certainly hoped his lies weren’t as easy to see through.

“I mean,” she corrected, playing with the straw in her drink that rested on the bar top. “I’m just taking a break. These things are kind of new to me.”

“Parties?”

Kira looked sheepish. “It’s my first one since working here and I don’t want to embarrass myself. More than I already have, that is.”

Derek let a smile grow on his lips, “Nothing could be more embarrassing than whatever Stiles will end up doing tonight, don’t worry.”

Kira pressed her lips together in a small smile like she appreciated the effort but didn’t believe a word he’d said anyway. She waited a moment before changing the subject. “You don’t seem like you want to hide at this party – you seemed really happy out there talking to everyone.”

Derek grimaced, “That’s only because I knew Allison was watching. She made me socialise so I looked like a good boss. Trust me, I’d much rather be here than out there.”

“I think you’re a good boss,” she said quietly, smiling sincerely at him before glancing down at her drink and letting her hair fall as a curtain across her face.

Derek tried not to let her statement touch him too deeply. Two compliments in one night wasn’t something he was entirely used to – compliments that weren’t objectifying him, that is.

“Sorry,” Kira muttered.

Derek’s eyebrows pulled together. “What for?”

“For making things awkward that day - you know, when I offered to…fake date…you…” Kira spoke slowly, wincing at her own words and not lifting her head or peeking out from behind the safety of her hair. “And for now, too. I’m just always making things awkward – I’m sorry. I’ll just go-“

“It’s fine,” Derek cut in, quirking his lips slightly when Kira glanced up at him with wide eyes in the hope she could tell he was being genuine. “You didn’t make it awkward. Then or now. It was kind of you to offer.”

Her lips lifted to match his as she fidgeted with the hem of her dress some, and Derek knew that he hadn’t said the right thing.

“I couldn’t let you abandon your family for the holidays in favour of mine,” he said, trying to fix whatever he’d done wrong.

“Oh, you wouldn’t be,” Kira replied, almost too quickly, with a shake of the head before she realised what she’d done and flushed. “I mean, not that I’m trying to convince you to make me your fake girlfriend for your family holiday or anything, but you wouldn’t be keeping me from my family. My parents are in Korea for the holidays and a wedding, so I’ll just be here alone in the city.”

Derek raised his eyebrows but Kira was quick to continue rambling on.

“I actually heard that Erica from PR is looking for company but I think I’m just going to order in and binge watch something on Netflix.”

“You’re spending it alone?”

“Yep. Well, I mean, not entirely. I’m sure I’ll see someone. It might be a delivery guy, but he still counts,” Kira laughed awkwardly.

Derek nodded slowly, mulling over Kira spending the holidays in the city alone. He remembered holidays on his own from when he deliberately distanced himself from his family after the first Kate debacle. It was an incredibly lonely time, not only because of his self-loathing and overthinking, but because being alone during the holidays genuinely sucked. Seeing people out and about having fun with family and friends only served to make him feel worse and he could only imagine how much harder it would be for Kira. He didn’t want her to have to go through that.

“Would you like to spend Christmas with me and my family?”

Kira blinked at him. “Uh…”

“It doesn’t have to be—“ Derek shook his head, stumbling over his words. “You can just come. You shouldn’t be alone for the holidays. Malia will be there, too, if that makes you feel better.”

“But what about the thing with your uncle?”

Derek shook his head, “Don’t let that affect your choice. I’ll deal with it whether you’re there or not.”

Kira looked at her drink again, turning the straw around the short glass a few times before meeting Derek’s eyes and nodding. “Okay. I’ll come. One condition, though,” she waited for Derek to raise his eyebrows before she added, “You have to let me help you.”

“You hang out with Scott and Stiles too much,” he sighed, “but fine.”

At that, Kira grinned.

**

Hours later, the room was abuzz with loud, jolly, drunken chatter and terrible unashamed dancing. The gifts had been exchanged a little earlier and Derek watched from a secluded spot on the other side of the room as delicate hands unwrapped the gift he’d purchased, glad for the privacy he’d found when the recipient’s reaction was better than he could have expected.

Derek’s own gift had been something of a mystery to him. He suspected it was from Scott – there was a white mug that read ‘best new CEO 2015’ and a framed picture of all of them from his and Allison’s celebratory dinner after they took their new positions (he and Allison standing together, Derek unable to hide his grin in the moment and Allison dimpling one up at him. Scott with one arm around Derek’s shoulders and the other fist pumping in the air, Stiles leaning excitedly on Scott’s back as Danny gave a judgemental smirk from beside him. Lydia beside Allison with a perfect smile and a confident raise in her eyebrows that suggested she knew it would happen all along, Erica and Malia beside her, just managing to pull Kira into the shot before it happened. It wasn’t a perfect photo by any means – Boyd was lurking in the back not even looking at the camera – but the sight of it made Derek feel… well, suffice to say it made him feel more than one photo ever really should). But there was also a bag of Hersey’s Kisses nestled in the mug with a post-it attached (that read ‘to make up for the lack of real kisses you’ll be getting this Christmas’) that made Derek think that Stiles had definitely had at least some input on his gift.

He didn’t really mind who it was from – he just wanted to know who to thank for the photo. He hadn’t seen it before and it meant a lot to him. Before he could keep theorising on who had gifted him something so thoughtful, he spotted Erica and Boyd standing awkwardly nearby each other but not talking on the opposite side of the room. Maybe it was the sentimentality of his gift or the almost three ciders he’d had that night or just the buzz of Christmas in the air, but Derek had had enough of watching them circle each other pointlessly.

Whipping out his phone, he tapped out a quick text to Boyd, watching as his friend read it and snapped his head up to scan the room for Derek’s position. He was reminded yet again that he’d picked the ultimate hiding spot and tried not to be too smug when he sent yet another text to Boyd telling him to talk to Erica.

Boyd pushed his phone into his pocket and Derek watched as he took a deep breath before muttering something and glancing to see if Erica heard him. Her face lit up once she registered Boyd was talking to her, her standard confident smirk finding its place as she answered whatever it was he’d said. They stepped closer together, talking easily, Erica throwing her head back in a genuine laugh making Boyd grin, something which rarely happened. He waited until he spotted Boyd rub at the back of his neck as he shrugged casually and Erica raise her eyebrows in an almost taunting fashion to look away, able to spot both of their tell-tale flirting mannerisms due to his long and varied friendships with them.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding…”

Derek startled, turning to see Allison joining him in his dark section of the room.

“And creepily staring at Erica and Boyd?” she finished, raising her eyebrows at him.

“I wasn’t staring,” he clarified with a huff, “Just making sure nature took its course.”

Allison’s brow furrowed. “What?”

“Nevermind.” He glanced back to where his friends had been to find the spot empty and he hoped it meant they were making progress.

“Anyway,” Allison started, tucking her hair behind her ears. “What are you doing back here? Still trying to avoid socialising?”

“Talking to people was fine. I just needed a break. There’s only so many polite smiles and laughs I can fake before I get bored with pleasantries.”

Allison smirked, glancing over and up at him. “So it has nothing to do with the gift exchange?”

Derek was grateful for the shadow of the area they were standing in. “Why would it?”

“Just wondering,” Allison said coyly, shrugging her shoulders. “What did you get?”

Derek passed her the gift bag he’d received, “I think it’s from Scott.”

“Interesting…” she murmured as she glanced at the gifts inside.

“What about you?” he asked, trying not to sound too interested.

She passed his gift back, waving a hand dismissively. “Mine was fine.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I mean, I got this set of dishes but-“ she cringed, “they’re kind of hideous.”

He frowned, speaking before he could stop himself. “I thought those were the ones you wanted.”

Allison’s grin was instantaneous. “I knew it was you.”

He clenched his jaw, glancing away, and her smile fell.

“I was kidding, Derek. I love them – truly. I just knew you’d never admit to giving them to me so I had to trick you.” She watched him closely as he stared out at the party again. He felt undeniably awkward now that she knew he’d gifted her something she’d wanted so badly. It wasn’t supposed to mean anything. It was just a gift.

“Sorry,” she sighed.

“It’s fine.”

“You’re obviously uncomfortable with me knowing it was you.”

He shook his head, still not looking at her.

“Derek,” she touched his arm and that caught his attention. “I only wanted to thank you. When I told you about them, I was talking in fantasies. I didn’t think for a second they would be something I actually owned. They’re beautiful.”

“You wanted them so I gave them to you.”

“I know. And it was very generous.”

“Not really,” he said, even though deep down he knew it was. Even if they hadn’t agreed on the gift exchange, he probably would have given them to her anyway after seeing how much she adored them. He just wanted her to be able to have whatever she wanted.

She gave him the same disapproving look she’d given him earlier when he was trying to get out of mingling with the other party goers. “Don’t do that. The gift means a lot to me so don’t sit there and pretend like it doesn’t just because you’re unhappy I figured out it was from you. If it makes you feel better, I was your Secret Santa, too. Happy now? Now we both know the other gave us a nice gift.”

Derek blinked at her and then looked down at the gift bag in his hands as if it would tell him whether she was lying or not.

“Yes, really,” she rolled her eyes, answering his unspoken question. “I thought you should know that you’re doing a great job. Truly. I know you’re hard on yourself but you’ve adapted well and I’m lucky to call you my business partner. And I wanted you to know that you’re not alone, which is why I gave you the picture. You have a team of friends around you, Derek, if only you’d let us in. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still going to be trying to force our way into your life but it’d be nice if you just accepted our friendship a little instead.”

Derek let out a chuckle.

“Even when you think there’s no one on your side, that picture is there to show you just a sampling of people who are and who always will be.”

He met her eyes again and felt his chest go airy.

“And the Hersey’s?”

Allison smirked, her eyes glancing around the room mischievously before landing back on his. “They were just something silly to cheer you up, since you’re such a grump,” she prodded at him with a giggle before sobering slightly, “But also because I heard you shot down Stiles’ idea of getting a fake girlfriend to show Peter you didn’t care that he was bringing Kate home for Christmas so I figured you could use a few candy kisses since you won’t have the real thing.”

“Yeah, about that – Kira talked me into it.”

“What?”

“I’m not going to be kissing her, but she was going to spend the holidays alone and would only agree to spend it with my family if I agreed to let her help me.” Derek rolled his eyes.

“What a sacrifice that must have been,” she quipped. “But I’m not sure you can get away with a fake relationship without some kissing.”

Derek shook his head, “I won’t be kissing her. She’s an employee-“

“And a friend-“

“And I won’t lead her on like that,” Derek finished, ignoring Allison’s interjection.

She just smiled at him, the same unreadable smile that confused Derek.

“There’s another reason why I gave you those,” she said after a brief moment of silence. Derek merely raised his eyebrows, prompting her to continue. “I wanted you to know that whenever you need, I’ll happily give you kisses. Any kind.”

And with only a second of hesitation, Allison stepped closer and leaned up on her tip-toes to press a chaste kiss to Derek’s lips. She smelled of sweet perfume and cider, something that no doubt would have made him want to see what she tasted like if he’d been given the chance to deepen the kiss, but it was over as fast as it had happened.

“Merry Christmas, Derek,” she murmured once she’d pulled back, a smattering of pink dusted over her cheeks, before she ducked her head and hurried off.

Derek tried not to look too baffled as he sat in the dark, the party still raging around him, with an odd, confused feeling settling deep in his chest.

**

Two days later Derek, Malia and Kira were on a red-eye flight to Buffalo, where the new Hale residence was situated. It was a long journey, filled with Kira asking Derek a bunch of personal questions in order to try and know him better. The fake-girlfriend plan was back and in full swing and while Derek still wasn’t entirely on board with it, it was too late to back out now. The time to back out was probably before he spent his extra frequent flyer miles on getting Kira a seat beside him and Malia on their flight.

Still, the barrage of questions was a little much for Derek to deal with and he often looked to Malia to answer for him. They weren’t always the most truthful answers but Derek was happy to roll with most things Malia answered with so long as it meant he didn’t have to keep talking about himself and his past.

They made it to Buffalo by early evening, the sky dark as they walked out of the airport with their luggage. Derek couldn’t help but take a deep, calming breath of the air that felt like home and let the familiarity of the place settle over him.

“Should we hire a car?” Kira suggested, glancing up at him as she shivered in the cold of the snow.

He shook his head, smirk on his lips. “Someone will be here.”

Just as he’d finished speaking a high pitched squeal sounded out to their left, louder than the traffic passing by a short ways away and the general bustle of the airport, and Derek dropped his duffle to his feet and held his arms open to catch Cora as she flung herself at him.

“You made it!”

Derek chuckled, wrapping his little sister up in a tight hug and only stumbling back a little from the force of her impact. “We did.”

He set her down, holding onto her for another brief moment before she pulled back.

“You still look like a doofus,” she said, reaching up to flick him on the forehead.

“And you still need to work on your insults,” he countered easily before Malia cut in and picked Cora up in a tight hug of her own.

There was a little more excited squealing before Malia also set her down and Cora turned to the last person in the group.

“And you are?” she arched an eyebrow, doing her best to return to her cool, intimidating persona despite Kira having just seen she was anything but.

Kira blushed, opening her mouth to reply before Derek realised that if this story was going to fly, he’d have to be the one to tell his sisters. They’d never believe it otherwise.

“That’s Kira,” he said. “My girlfriend.”

Cora glanced back at him with wide eyes. “You’re bringing a new girlfriend home for Christmas without pre-warning mom? You’re crazy.”

Derek shrugged as Cora turned back to Kira.

“I hope he’s prepared you for this,” she said, bending to take Kira’s bag from the floor as she draped an arm over her shoulder and started leading her toward the parking lot. “The Hales do Christmas a little differently.”

He couldn’t help but laugh as Kira glanced back worriedly at him, picking up his and Malia’s bags as they trailed behind Cora and Kira.

**

“Oh my God,” Kira whispered. Cora snorted, glancing in the rear view mirror to smile at Derek in the backseat.

Kira was almost pressed up against the passenger seat window, watching the world passing by and marvelling at the Christmas lights donning each and every house on the way to the Hale residence.

“Just wait,” Malia said, leaning in between the front seats of the car to talk to Kira, grin wide and eyes full of excitement. “It gets way better.”

Kira already looked overwhelmed as it was, declaring that each house they past was better than the last, but when Cora announced that they were home a few moments later, Derek actually laughed at how awe-struck Kira seemed.

“No way.”

“You can get out, you know,” he said. “Unless you want to stay in the car for the whole trip.”

Kira blinked out of her thoughts, quick to get out of the car and stand in the snow to bask in the brightly lit beauty that was the new Hale mansion.

“It’s-“ she started.

“Excessive,” Derek supplied when it seemed as though she wasn’t going to continue.

“Beautiful,” she corrected. “Your parents must work so hard on this.”

“Not just our parents,” Cora muttered bitterly.

Kira turned to her. “You helped?”

“Not helping isn’t an option here. Derek only gets out of it because he no longer lives in the state.”

Derek grinned smugly at Cora.

“As cool as the lights are, can we get inside?” Malia whined. “I’m freezing.”

Kira nodded absently, finally tearing her eyes away from the house lights to notice the yard of decorations that flanked the path they walked to the front door. She giggled at the moving displays and held her hands out to catch the snow that was falling intermittently and watched with wide eyes as the lights on the house changed colours.

“I wish I could say this is as bad as it gets, but,” Derek tried to apologise as he leaned in from his position following behind her.

Kira shook her head, glancing back at him. “It’s incredible, Derek. Really.”

Derek was struck with a deep appreciation for Kira. Here was this girl who selflessly offered to spend her holidays trying to help him get through his and worked hard to get to know him before meeting his family despite him knowing next to nothing about her. She was kind hearted and sweet and everything his family would love and Derek would need. He was seriously going to owe her one after this was all over.

Up ahead, the front door cracked open, spilling warm light onto the porch and its steps and Derek could see his family standing in the doorway, all wide grins and welcoming arms and affectionate greetings. Derek smiled on instinct, navigating around Kira in his haste to see his family.

He embraced his mother the second he was at the top of the porch steps, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he rubbed her back. Derek’s father quickly joined them, chuckling as he demanded attention from his son and wrapping his arms around the two of them. It was warm and stifling and almost too much but Derek couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so good.

Pulling back, Derek let his father ruffle his hair like he always had.

“It’s good to see you, son. We’ve missed you.”

Derek felt a little guilty but as he looked from his mother to his father and saw only elation at having him home, no trace of blame for staying away, he allowed himself to smile softly.

“It’s nice to be back.”

His mother grinned proudly, squeezing his arm gently, before something over his shoulder caught her eye.

“Derek, who’s that you’ve left out in the garden?” his mother asked.

Admittedly, he had momentarily forgotten about Kira in his desperation to hug his parents and he had the good grace to look sheepish as he turned back to her. She was still marvelling at the decorations but was quickly broken out of her reverie when the silence from the previously boisterous porch registered. She looked up at them all, smiling nervously as Derek motioned for her to join them. He helped her up the somewhat icy porch steps before turning to his parents. He hadn’t really considered how he was going to tell his family about Kira, but with the rest of his family still loitering in the doorway, he figured it was as good a time as any to drop the bombshell.

“Mom, Dad. Everyone. This is Kira,” he looked to her as he took her hand, only stuttering slightly as he added, “My girlfriend.”

The reactions of his family were a collection of surprised and confused and happy and ultimately it was Laura who broke the tension by screeching out ‘What?!’ and pushing through the group of family to get out onto the porch.

“You had a girlfriend and you didn’t even tell me?” she demanded, crossing her arms across her chest.

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Derek said, and really, it was a reasonable excuse because he never told anyone anything. “I don’t know why you’re surprised.”

Laura frowned at him before ignoring his words and turning to Kira. “Hi, I’m Laura – your emotionally constipated boyfriend’s big sister.”

Kira smiled good naturedly, shaking Laura’s hand. “Nice to meet you. And you too, Mr and Mrs Hale.”

“There’s no need to be so formal here, Kira. You’re with family, now – call me Talia.”

Kira nodded and Talia smiled, hooking an arm around her husband’s waist.

“Now, let’s get you two inside so you can get warm before I demand to hear how this all happened,”

Talia’s smile was knowing and bordering on mischievous and Derek tried not to think about the possibility that she knew he was lying already. Somehow she always seemed to know. But he put on a good front, looking down at Kira again, who was already watching him, and smiling softly at her.

“Welcome to my family,” he said and Kira merely grinned up at him.

**

The Hale house was full of family – both immediate and distant – and Christmas decorations. There were decorated trees in the living room, kitchen, dining room and several of the upstairs bedrooms, or so Cora said, and each one had a scattering of gifts underneath that had been left there by one of the family members residing within. There was mistletoe hung over several doorways and Derek did his best to avoid them as much as possible when Kira was by his side without making it obvious, often back tracking like he’d forgotten his way around the house. No one appeared to notice and he was grateful for that, but even more so for Kira, who was so busy fending off questions or looking at family photos or admiring the detailed train set his father had set up in the den that Derek barely had to do anything. She was frequently being introduced to new family members and Derek was relieved to see how easily she took everything, always laughing or smiling nervously and winning everyone over with just how earnest she was in everything she said or did.

Derek deliberately distanced himself from the bustle of his family and their festivities by taking his, Kira’s and Malia’s bags upstairs to find which guest rooms had been made up for them. He felt bad for lying to his family and getting them excited for him over something that wasn’t even real. Worse, he felt bad for making Kira lie to them all, too. He’d just finished dumping his duffle on a free king bed, sighing to himself and rubbing a hand over his face in exhaustion, when he heard an all too familiar voice from behind him.

“It’s your welcome home party and you’re up here hiding already?”

Derek turned to see Isaac leaning against the door frame with a scowl on his face. “I was trying to avoid running into you but I can see that didn’t work.”

Isaac stared blankly at him for a moment before grinning, crossing the space between them in quick steps to pull him into a tight hug.

“Welcome back,” he said.

Derek gave a squeeze before stepping away. “How have you been?”

Isaac nodded non-committally, flopping onto the bed Derek had just claimed with his and Kira’s bags. “Fine. What’s with the girl downstairs?”

“Kira,” Derek provided. “We’re spending the holidays together.”

“Because you’re dating?” he clarified.

“That’s what people do, yes.”

Isaac rolled his eyes. “Not people who haven’t been dating very long, they don’t.” He looked pointedly at Derek who glanced up from the bag he was beginning to unpack. “You don’t just forget your girlfriend in the front yard when you’re bringing her home for the first time, Derek.”

“And you’re an expert on girlfriends, I take it?”

“I’ve got a better history with them than you do. And I know how you treat your girlfriends normally. Whoever she is downstairs – she’s not a girlfriend.”

Derek glared at him. “Leave it alone.”

“I’m just saying,” he shrugged, picking up Derek’s wallet from the bed and thumbing through it, “And if I’ve noticed I’m sure someone else has, too. Laura, probably.”

“It’s true,” Laura said from the doorway, startling Derek and making Isaac jolt on the bed.

“What the hell? Were you eavesdropping?” Derek demanded as Laura traipsed into the room, shutting the door behind her.

She shrugged, “What else was I supposed to do?”

“Not listen to my private conversations?”

“Why? About to say something you didn’t want me to hear, Derek?” She gave him the same judgemental stare she used to give him when he stole her chapstick in middle school during winter and wouldn’t admit to her. As the older sister, Laura definitely knew Derek better than anyone else did, or as much as anyone could know a guy who was as closed off as he was. “Isaac’s right - this doesn’t add up. I’ve seen how you act with girls you really care about and you wouldn’t be up here pretending to unpack when you could be down there just being with her if you really cared about Kira. What’s really going on here? You can tell us.”

Isaac nodded, sitting up on the bed and scooching over so Laura could sit beside him. They watched him, eyes honest and concerned as they waited for him to speak and after the long flight and seeing how easily his family accepted Kira and how well she was doing playing her part and how guilty it was all making him feel, Derek doesn’t have it in him to lie.

“Peter told me he’s bringing Kate Argent here for Christmas as his date and Kira offered to pretend to be my girlfriend to provide moral support while they’re here since she was planning on spending the holiday alone anyway and Malia told everyone how freaked out I was at the thought of having to see her again.”

Laura’s eyebrows rose in shock but it was the anger in Isaac’s narrowed eyes that took Derek’s focus.

“Peter’s doing what?” he demanded, fuming.

“No,” Laura said, but Derek couldn’t tell if she was talking to Isaac or reacting to what Derek had said. “He wouldn’t dare.”

“No,” Isaac echoed, shaking his head as he stood from the bed, “That’s not happening.”

“Where are you going?” Derek asked, watching Isaac stalk across the room.

Laura was quicker to react than Derek was, already off the bed and rushing to try to catch Isaac as she explained, “Uncle Peter arrived early this morning. He’s staying just down the hall.”

That shot Derek into motion, and he got to the door just after Isaac had thrown it open and was on his heels as he stormed into the room that apparently housed Peter.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” Isaac demanded, startling Peter out of a jet-lag induced nap.

Peter blinked groggily at Isaac, then Derek and Laura in turn as they burst into the room. Derek was glad to find him alone in the bed, but it was only a minor relief.

“The gang’s all here,” Peter quipped dryly, rubbing at his eyes as he sat up in bed some. “May I ask why you’re all here?”

“Because you’re an asshole,” Isaac spat, kicking at the bed, causing Laura to pull him back by the shoulder.

Peter gave a longsuffering sigh as he sat up completely. “And?”

“And I’m kicking you out.”

“Isaac,” Laura sighed but Peter just laughed.

“You think you can throw me out of my own home just because my sister takes pity on you and lets you live here and play happy families? I don’t think so.”

“I’m sure she’d agree with me when she finds out what you’ve done,” Isaac said, not backing down. “You’re treating Derek like shit and he doesn’t deserve it.”

Peter had the audacity to actually look affronted by Isaac’s accusation and Derek wanted to punch him for it. “You’re right. I treated him terribly, especially when I gave him my share in a multi-million dollar company and promoted him to the highest position of power and helped pay his way through years of college. I’m sorry Derek, however will you forgive me?”

Derek narrowed his eyes at his Uncle’s sarcasm and Laura grabbed a hold of his shoulder too, just in case.

“You know I’m not talking about that,” Isaac glowered.

“Why don’t you just spit out whatever your real problem is because I’m getting the sneaking suspicion that whatever this is isn’t really about Derek.” Peter looked like the cat that caught the canary. “Is it, Isaac?”

Derek and Laura both looked to Isaac who clenched his jaw tight as he glared.

“Are you really bringing Kate Argent here?”

Peter smirked. “Who wants to know?”

“The people who almost died the last time she was brought around this family,” Laura snapped.

Peter tsked, “It’s not fair to bring up someone’s past, Laura. People can change. Derek’s living proof – otherwise he wouldn’t be over there quaking in his boots at the mere thought of his ex-lady love coming back into his life.”

“Peter,” Derek warned. “Tell me.”

Peter’s façade broke, “Oh nephew, you really don’t have a sense of humour, do you? You need to lighten up.”

“What does that mean?” Laura demanded.

Peter shrugged, feigning innocence, and Derek had had enough.

“I don’t care what you do but know that if you bring her here and she tries to ruin this family again, I will ruin you.” Derek took a moment to ensure Peter got the message before storming out of the room, Laura trailing not too far behind him.

Isaac waited, frowning at Peter.

“What?” Peter snapped.

“Why would you want to bring her here?”

“Because you said last time was the last time. I’m trying to respect your wishes, like you asked me to,” Peter’s voice was sickly sweet, deliberately baiting Isaac by acting like he was the innocent party in the whole mess.

“Bullshit. You know what bringing her here will do to Derek and you know what it will do to me.”

Peter rolled his eyes, “Contrary to your belief, Isaac, my world doesn’t revolve around you or my nephew. You wanted to end our arrangement so I found someone else. You can’t whine because you don’t approve of who I’ve chosen to move on with. It’s merely coincidence that it happens to be with the same psychotic bitch who tried to burn my whole family alive.”

“This isn’t moving on. This is deliberately hurting people who care about you and the worst part is that you take pleasure in it. You’re sick, Peter.”

“And yet you’re still here…” Peter mused, smirking.

Isaac simply shook his head, stalking out of the room and trying to ignore the smug laughter that followed him down the hall.

**

After a few moments to calm down, Derek returned downstairs to his family and, more importantly, to Kira. He felt bad for having abandoned her with strangers for so long, even if they were his family, but things upstairs had spiralled out of his control before he even knew what was happening. He easily found her among the party, sitting inbetween Cora and Talia looking at some photo albums. It was exactly what he knew would happen and exactly how he pictured it and the sight made him smile quietly to himself.

He stood and watched as Cora and Talia traded stories to go with the pictures, Kira grinning and laughing and pointing at pictures in the albums, flipping pages at her own time. It was Cora who looked up and spotted him first, waving him over to join them just as Talia was about to start another story.

“This was Derek’s first big game on the Beacon Hills Basketball Team. He scored the winning points that night. The crowd roared so loud and we screamed right along with them – not just for the win but for our little Derek,” she boasted, the pride evident in her voice even years after the event and Derek smiled softly at the memory.

“We got ice cream after,” Derek continued, “And Malia accidentally tripped Cora outside the parlour and she chipped her tooth.”

Kira looked up, previously unaware of Derek’s re-emergence downstairs, and grinned. “I’ve been learning a lot about you.”

“I’m not surprised. Nothing too embarrassing, I hope.”

Cora smirked, “I don’t know any other stories worth telling.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re done,” Derek told Kira and she nodded, flipping another page of the album and starting Talia on another story from years ago.

Derek bumped into Laura on his way to the kitchen.

“Hey,” she said, brows furrowed in concern. “You okay?”

“Fine,” Derek answered curtly. Laura just frowned deeper. “Really. If she shows up, I’ll be fine.”

Laura pressed her lips into a thin line but said nothing further, so Derek tipped his head at the guy standing behind her.

“Who’s this?”

“Oh!” she burst into life, a grin replacing her frown as she tugged on the guy’s arm and brought him forward to stand beside her instead of behind. “Derek, this is Camden. The boyfriend.” 

“And alsomy brother, but, y’know – less important,” Isaac added, appearing from the direction of the staircase and cutting between the three of them to head straight into the kitchen and make a beeline for the fridge.

“Only mildly less important,” Camden said before shaking Derek’s hand. “It’s good to finally meet you, man. Laura speaks highly of you.”

Derek raised his eyebrows at Laura, latching onto the compliment as they joined Isaac in the kitchen. “Does she now? What kind of stuff does she say?”

Laura shook her head vehemently, leaning across to cover Camden’s mouth with her hand before he could answer. “Nothing. Cam doesn’t know what he’s saying – I’ve only ever told him how much of a pain in my ass you are.”

“Mmhmm,” Derek hummed doubtfully, eyes teasing, “Whatever you say.”

“See? Pain in my ass,” Laura muttered, stalking off to steal one of the beers Isaac was pulling from the fridge as both Derek and Camden laughed at her.

Isaac carried three beers to the stools at the breakfast bar, passing one to Derek and Camden as they all sat, each of them clinking their bottles together in a silent toast.

“So you’re home for the holidays?” Derek asked once he’d had a pull from his beer, settling into a new conversation.

Camden made a noise, tilting his hand side to side as he swallowed his mouthful. “Sort of. I finished my latest tour a few months back and I’ve just been hanging out back here, trying to get to know Isaac again. I’ve been gone so long and for so much of his life that I want to try and build something proper, now, before I have to go again. That’s how your sister and I met, actually. She chaperoned our first remeeting, I guess you could call it.” Derek snorted and then apologised once Laura glared at him. Camden continued on unfazed, obviously not as perceptive as Isaac was. “I do have to go back eventually, but not right away.”

“Thank God,” Laura said, squeezing Camden’s hand.

“Must be tough coming back after so long away,” Derek commented.

Camden shrugged, “After how long I’ve spent here building something back up, It’s going to be tougher leaving, these days. Now that I have something to miss.”

Isaac and Derek looked to each other and made retching noises almost instantly and Laura flipped them off, leaning in to kiss Camden chastely.

“Excuse me while I go throw up,” Isaac said, making more retching noises as he left the room with his beer, only to have Camden and Laura make their own excuses a few moments later. Derek waved them off, knowing wholeheartedly that he didn’t want them to stick around if they were going to keep making out like that. He was an adult, sure, but Laura was still his sister and it was still gross to see her making out with some guy in the kitchen.

He was just about to finish his beer and find Kira when she found him first, sauntering in and pulling one of the abandoned stools closer to him.

“Having fun?” he asked, surprised at how casual he felt and not at all the bundle of nerves he’d been earlier.

“Learning all the embarrassing secrets of your dark past? You bet.”

Derek rolled his eyes as Kira giggled.

“No really,” she said, sobering slightly. “Your family is great, Derek. Wonderful, even. I don’t know what you were so worried about.”

“Yeah,” Derek said bitterly, gulping at his beer. “That’s because nothing has happened yet.”

Kira lifted her hand, hesitating a few times before reaching out to wrap it over Derek’s clenched fist. “There’s no guarantee it will.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said gruffly and Kira nodded.

“You’re right. But if something does happen, at least I’ll be here to try and help.”

Derek watched her closely and felt a pang in his chest. No one but Allison had ever been able to deal with his moods and his snapping in a positive way before. His sisters and Erica always snapped back at him, calling him stubborn and an ass before they eventually stormed out. But Allison, and now Kira, accepted that he was sometimes bleak and negative and rolled with it as best they could to try and help him.

And just that understanding in itself, helped. More than anything else they could have done.

He looked to her and smiled. “I’ve severely underestimated you,” he admitted quietly.

“I get that a lot,” she replied with a sly smile and Derek couldn’t help himself.

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her cheek, relaxing his clenched fist to allow Kira’s hand fall into his grasp.

**

Christmas came a few days later and it was filled with presents, food, laughter and, thankfully, no Kate Argent. Peter had insisted it had been a joke once Talia heard (from Isaac) that her brother had invited Derek’s abusive and mentally unstable ex to their new safe haven, and threatened to throw him out on his ear if she so much as entered the neighbourhood. Derek tried not to be too smug about it.

It didn’t really matter to him in the long run. He’d spent the days leading up to Christmas with Kira and his family, relishing in his downtime before he had to return to the daily grind of office work. He looked through more photo albums with his mom and Kira, watched home videos with his sisters and took Kira on trips through the parks nearby their house so Kira could experience snow for the first time. Derek, his father, Isaac and Camden all went on hikes and even a shopping trip to buy gifts for their partners (although Isaac wouldn’t admit whether he was buying for his new egomaniac boyfriend, Jackson, or the old one still staying in the guest room down the hall from Derek). Derek hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long time.

Slowly but surely he and Kira got to know each other better and Derek liked more and more of what he saw. He knew she was quiet but she was funny, too. And flirtatious when the mood struck her, which happened only when the two of them were alone, getting ready to sleep and trying to ignore the shadows under the door that indicated people were listening in. They shared the bed because they were adults and even friends and not incapable of sharing a bed without something happening. More often than not, though, they’d end up cuddling and it was definitely something that crossed a line in Derek’s mind. He found he had to remind himself far too often that they were pretending and that while Kira was a friend now, she was still an employee, someone under his power, and cuddling with her was inappropriate. But he figured that was an issue for him to dwell over when they were back in the city and it wasn’t Christmas Day and he wasn’t in the kitchen eating dessert from serving bowls at 6pm with Laura while the rest of the family napped or played an intense and varied game of Scrabble in his father’s den because it was the holidays and Derek’s rational thinking wavered in the holidays.

Isaac and Camden and Cora were there in the kitchen with them, too, but they were playing Heads Up in a corner away from them, which made it okay when Laura quietly said to him:

“She likes you, you know. Kira, I mean.”

Derek sighed. “No she doesn’t.”

Laura gave him a look he was all too familiar with coming from the Hale women. It was the ‘Derek, don’t be an idiot’ look.

“She doesn’t!” he protested again, hitting Laura’s spoon away with his as they both tried to get some of the dessert at the same time. “This is the two of us doing each other a favour. Nothing’s changed except we know each other better now.”

“Yeah, because you cuddle every night,” she muttered.

Kira chose that moment to poke her head in the doorway. “Am I interrupting?”

Derek shook his head, waving her over and glaring at Laura when he knew Kira couldn’t see. His sister merely smirked at him. He was about to give up his stool for her since there were only four and they were currently occupied when she found a seat beside him on the breakfast bar countertop. He offered her his beer without thinking and realised only after she took it and drank some that it was quite out of the ordinary for them. Well for the old them it was. The new them did this kind of coupley stuff all the time, though mostly for show. There was no one watching them now and they still did it anyway.

Derek filed that realisation away with the other items of varying significance that he knew required careful consideration after his rational thinking had returned.

Laura got a clean spoon for Kira to use in demolishing the dessert with them and while she was gone, Kira nudged her thigh against Derek’s shoulders since they were at the same level. He nudged her back gently, hearing her giggle and trying not to think too much about how nice it felt to bring that out of her or how easily it came to him to act like that with her.

The three of them were almost finished their dessert and were in the middle of destroying the other three in a team game of Heads Up they’d been roped into joining when Talia swanned into the room.

“Alright, children, it’s time,” she said, and Laura and Derek let out a groan as Cora and Isaac gave a short cheer. Camden and Kira shared looks of confusion.

“Get hiding! Come on you two,” Talia prompted, pushing at Derek and Laura until they got off their stools, “You have to help the others! Remember: only in the house!’

Derek and Laura did as they were told, just because it was easier than arguing, and Derek waited until the others had run out to find hiding spots beyond the kitchen before taking Kira to the door that led outside. He held a finger to his lips before slowly and quietly opening the back door, slipping out and motioning for Kira to follow him before pulling it shut behind them. Kira shivered as fresh snow fell and Derek realised how underdressed they were for his favourite hiding spot, but he didn’t have time to think of a new one.

“Sorry about this,” he whispered as they snuck past windows.

“I don’t even know what we’re doing,” she admitted in hushed tones. “Should I be worried?”

Derek laughed silently, only just now registering how strange it must seem to someone new. “It’s the annual family game of hide and seek. It’s tradition but you don’t have to play if you don’t want.”

“No,” Kira answered, almost too fast, as she nodded her head. “I want to.”

Derek smiled back at her, taking her hand and gently pulling her along. “Come on, I’ve got the perfect spot.”

He led her halfway around the house to his father’s garden, sitting down in the snow behind a shrub that was the perfect height to see over without being seen.

“I always win when I hide here,” he whispered proudly as Kira settled in beside him.

“Didn’t your mom say ‘only in the house’? Isn’t hiding this kind of breaking the rules?”

“My father says this is his favourite room in the house – if they didn’t want me to use it, they should have been more clear with their rules.” Derek uttered, smirking as Kira grinned at him before he couldn’t help but grin back. They watched each other in the dark for so long that he saw the moment when her teeth first chattered from the cold.

“How long does it usually take for the seekers to find everyone?” she asked, shifting closer as the snow visibly soaked through her jeans.

Derek thought it over. “Generally less time than it takes to catch hypothermia.”

Kira laughed quietly and Derek lifted his arm for her to snuggle in against his body, wrapping her in tight.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

“I wasn’t about to let you get sick when the only reason you’re here at all is because of me and my issues,” Derek said pragmatically, as if he hadn’t been thinking about cuddling against her for most of the day. His mother had given Kira a soft new sweater for Christmas and all Derek wanted was to rub his face against it.

“Not just for this. For all of it, I mean,” Kira said, bringing Derek out of his reverie.

He raised his eyebrows and Kira continued, shifting slightly so she could look up at him as she spoke but still remained tucked against his chest.

“I was going to have my first holiday in the city alone and then you offered me an alternative. I know I was supposed to be here to help you but I wanted you to know that you’ve helped me too. Being around your family has been nothing short of amazing. You’re really lucky, Derek. I’ve only been here for a short time and I feel the love I’ve been missing since my parents have been away. I feel more confident and happier – like I’m something more than just some awkward girl. I can’t believe you almost missed out on this. I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to give this up.”

“I’m glad you got something out of it other than embarrassing childhood stories,” Derek muttered and Kira giggled.

“I got plenty of those. Thanks for sharing your world with me,” she murmured.

And, as they heard the unmistakeable sound of Cora stomping out into the backyard, calling out about how if Derek was hiding in the garden again she was going to eat all his favourite leftovers before he could, Derek couldn’t help but think of everything that had happened.

Boyd and Erica’s love was blossoming and Derek had the possibility of a love of his own with either Kira or Allison in the future, after he figured himself out. He’d been strong enough to risk seeing someone toxic to him just for the sake of his family, being reminded yet again of how there was nothing he wouldn’t do for them. But the most important part to Derek was the realisation that he wasn’t as alone as he’d always believed himself to be – he had friends in unlikely places and while they might have been his employees and coworkers, they watched over Derek like a second family and he saw no point in denying something so blatantly obvious anymore. 

“Will things be different when we’re back in the city?”

“Yes.”

Before either of them could say anything else, the full force of an icy dump of snow fell on them, Cora cackling as they bustled away.

“Found you!” she shouted triumphantly.

She was dancing around, celebrating, as the others who had been found watched from the back porch. Derek looked to Kira, who was eyeing the snow at their feet carefully before looking back to him. Derek grinned wickedly and they both bent down to the floor.

This time Cora was the one bristling as the snow hit her, both Derek and Kira launching two poorly made snowballs at her while her back was turned. Naturally, once they had, several retaliatory snowballs were launched their way from the porch and before they knew it, a new Hale tradition was born – the family snowball fight.

There was laughter and squealing in the air, snow in Derek’s hair and all over his clothes, as his whole family joined them to throw snowballs at one another. He had a lot to think over once he returned to the city, namely what he was going to do, if anything, about the two women in his life currently taking up residence in his once cold heart, but right at that moment, he didn’t care. He was happy, surrounded by people he loved and with a phone full of messages from people who cared about him, people he could let himself love as more like friends than colleagues, and he felt sure for the first time in a long time. Derek Hale loved the holidays.


End file.
